Dark Days of Konoha
by BeardAspirant
Summary: 20 years after Sasuke's departure, Oro is back looking remarkably good for his age. Sort of grown up, post apocalyptic Naruto really. Please Read and Review. I'm inrigued to see what ppl think of it...


SETTING: 20 years after Sasuke's departure, the time has come for Orochimaru's 2nd attempt at an invasion of the Hidden Leaf. The ninja of the Leaf are fighting a losing battle and Sakura, most senior of the remaining shinobi, waits in the Hokage's office for the inevitable...

"...S-Sasuke-kun?"

Sakura's eyes hardened as the man standing in the shattered doorway, tall and slim yet broad shouldered and flanked by two burly Sound jounin, grinned maliciously and began the low, almost sickly chuckle that had become so feared across the country of Fire over the last two decades.

"It must have been a while since you set eyes on this tight little body, eh Sakura?" he sneered sardonically, "How you must have _pined_ for me."

"Orochimaru..."

"Indeed. As I'm certain you've noticed by now, Sasuke-kun's body has made me stronger than ever and it's only a matter of time before this miserable little stain of a village falls beneath the assault of my army. Efficient though they are, I have a hunch that that adorable little head of yours would be just the encouragement they need to hasten their conquest of the more ... _stubborn_ of the remaining pockets of resistance."

With a sudden blur of movement, an elite Leaf jounin rushed from the shadows to stand beside the desk at which Sakura sat. He snarled as he sank down into his fighting stance, the skin of his temples rippling into an intricate web of veins, converging at the edges of his pearl white eyes. Orochimaru's retinue crouched low, their hands dropping to their shuriken holsters.

"Hyuuga-san;" Sakura's voice was quiet and calm, but it carried an authoritative tone that made the powerful ninja tense. "There were reports of fighting by your family's dojo. You must be concerned and I'm sure they need your help."

"But ... Sakura-sama," he replied, visibly distressed, "If I go you'll be overwhelmed and I promised Lee that I'd..." He trailed off as she looked up at him and smiled, gently pushing down his raised front arm.

"I'll be fine, Neji. Please, go and help Hanabi-san back at home. Besides," she added to her old friend with mock severity, "Last time I checked, I was in charge of military operations in Hokage-sama's absence." Neji moved slowly out of stance and gave a reluctant smile.

"OK."

Stern once more, Sakura turned back towards the smirking Orochimaru as Neji left via the window.

"Mind sharing the joke with me?"

"Oh, it's just funny that you should mention Lee, that's all." Sakura flinched.

"What?"

"At least I assume it was him. Bowl cut; over fond of the colour green; the poor fellow fought to the last, even as I choked the life out of him." Orochimaru grinned as he saw Sakura start to tremble, "I think he might have been trying to prove something."

Sakura's eyes welled with tears as she thought back 8 years to the day she had finally accepted the latest of Lee's constant marriage proposals. He had been so happy, and had remained so despite the fact that something was always off between them. There had been months when she would constantly ignore him, completely preoccupied by the thought of Sasuke and what she believed was his approaching return. Even her most cruel rebuffs were met only with sheepish adulation and constant loyalty. It had grown worse in the weeks leading up to the imminent invasion when Sakura had been so engrossed in preperations that she had barely noticed him leaving unannounced two nights ago, not to return.

As Sakura leapt onto the desk, the shuriken thrown towards her by Orochimaru's lackeys seemed to move in slow motion as chakra coursed through her body, heightening her senses and causing her slender muscles to bulge with power.

"Lee," thought Sakura, "This was my fault. You were the person who suffered most for my weakness and yet you were always the one who thought the least badly of me for it. It's too late to make it up to you properly, but I can at least pay tribute to the physical strength that you taught me. Darling, you were brave enough to make this kinjutsu your own and to put it to good use and so will I. Here goes nothing..."

"The fourth: Harm gate ... Open!"

The foremost Sound-nin neither saw nor felt the blistering, somersaulting axe kick that shattered his entire left shoulder, sending shards of collar bone coursing through his heart. His teammate's frantic sequence of hand seals was interrupted as Sakura propelled herself from the still falling corpse, pinning the jounin against a nearby wall and driving her thumbs into the screaming warrior's eye sockets before piercing the skin of his throat with a vicious spear hand strike and tearing out his trachea.

Pausing for a split second, Sakura turned towards the now frowning Orochimaru. The ground buckling as she crouched, she launched herself forward with a furious scream.

"Sasuke-kun is dead. I won't let you defile his body any more. The Fifth: Limit Gate ... Open!"

Coming in low under Orochimaru's chin, she drove upwards with a lightning fast elbow strike. She noticed too late the pliability of her opponent's body, and the clone she struck exploded, knocking her backwards. Her body was wracked by whiplash as she was abruptly stopped by the hand of Orochimaru wrapping tightly around her neck. Paralysed by the lactic acid that filled her muscles, Sakura felt her feet leave the ground as she was lifted up to the level of Orochimaru's crimson, sharingan eyes.

"How dare you raise a hand against me, you insolent little bitch," he seethed. "Die."

Sakura wheezed blood as Orochimaru slammed his fist into her solar plexus, ejecting all the air from her lungs. She slumped to the floor as he threw her against the desk and could only listen to the footsteps that approached her as she awaited the killing blow.

The footsteps stopped, but nothing came. Painstakingly turning her neck, Sakura was aware through her blurred vision of a short, stocky man kneeling over her. Tears ran down her cheeks as he wiped the blood-matted hair from her eyes and grinned at her from underneath his own overgrown shock of blonde hair.

"Sorry I'm late Sakura-chan. Looks like things got pretty rough while I was away"

"N-Naruto..."

"Shh, you shouldn't be moving with those injuries. You've been filling in for me well, but now it's my turn. Stay still and rest for a bit."

As the edges of her vision faded to black, Sakura was aware of the room becoming packed with materialising shadow clones and she took comfort in the sound of her beloved friend's voice:

"I am the Rokudaime Hokage of the Hidden Leaf."

-Hmmmm; my first go at a fanfic. I know its kind of cheesy melodrama, but thats what Naruto's all about, to be honest. Ive got some ideas for later chapters if I get some positive feedback, but they'll likely be a bit lighter than this.


End file.
